Eight Years On, Noname’s Room 25 Still Packs a Full Life Into 34 Minutes

Room 25 runs 34 minutes across 11 tracks, and Noname spends every one of them figuring out who she is. The album wraps warm jazz and soul around lyrics that move between sex, faith, grief and city politics without ever losing their footing. Nothing about it feels padded.

Self and Blaxploitation Open the Door

Self runs just 1:34, but it does the job of a mission statement. Noname raps about her own body and her own voice with a directness that sets the terms for the rest of the record.

Blaxploitation follows and opens the lens further, pulling in history and self-doubt inside two and a half minutes. Both tracks earned singling-out from critics, and both justify it: they’re compact, funny, and sharp.

Prayer Song and Window

Prayer Song stretches past four minutes, the longest statement on the first half of the album, and it carries real weight. It’s one of the tracks critics pointed to specifically, and the reason is clear: the writing turns personal doubt into something closer to reckoning.

Window follows at 4:38 and slows the pace further, letting the production breathe under Noname’s more reflective lines.

Don’t Forget About Me

This is the emotional heart of Room 25. At 3:39, Don’t Forget About Me deals with mortality and memory with a plainness that lands harder than any flourish could. Critics named it among the album’s best, and it’s easy to hear why.

a transcendent coming-of-age tale built around cosmic jazz and neo-soul

That’s how Pitchfork described the album as a whole, and Don’t Forget About Me is where that description feels most true.

Regal, Montego Bae and Ace

Regal and Montego Bae sit back to back, both under three minutes, both loose and playful. Montego Bae in particular drew notice from critics for its wit and its warmth, a lighter turn after the weight of the previous stretch.

Ace closes this run at 3:02 and brings guest energy and a looser flow, another track singled out for how naturally it fits inside the record’s tighter shape.

Part of Me and With You

Part of Me and With You are the album’s quieter middle stretch. Neither runs longer than 3:15, and neither tries to carry the whole record. They do what a good middle section should do: keep the momentum without repeating what’s already been said.

no name

The album closes with no name at 4:05, its second-longest track after Window. It’s a fitting answer to Self, folding the record’s questions about identity back into itself without offering easy resolution.

The Flow Question

Some critics noted that Noname’s delivery can feel repeated across the record, held in the same register from track to track. That’s a fair point, but it’s also the album’s method, not its flaw. The writing carries so much weight that a busier delivery might have fought it instead of serving it.

The Production

The record’s production deserves attention on its own terms. The jazz and soul textures built underneath Noname never crowd her out; they cushion her. NME called the record “flawless” and “smartly constructed and laced with intricate subtlety,” and that care shows throughout.

AllMusic went further, calling the whole project “highly mature and immensely enjoyable,” and the Metacritic score of 93 backs that up as close to agreement among critics.

Room 25 doesn’t waste a second of its 34 minutes. Every track pulls its weight, from the opening self-portrait of Self to the closing loop of no name, and the record’s confidence never tips into excess. Score it 93 of 100.

album review · jazz rap · neo-soul · Noname · Room 25